Historian Jon Meacham says he's 'not partisan' but he 'helps his friend' Biden sometimes
Jon Meacham on MSNBC claimed he wasn't partisan in echoing Biden's concerns about democracy, before admitting he helped his friend from time to time.
Presidential historian Jon Meacham declared he wasn't "partisan" on "Morning Joe" Monday, but he did help his "friend" Joe Biden when he could.
The presidential historian was discussing this week's midterm elections with MSNBC co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. Meacham touted both Presidents Biden and Obama making the case that this election was different from years past because democracy was on the ballot.
President Biden has frequently railed against the "attack" on democracy from "MAGA Republicans" in the past few months. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The historian admitted this messaging was a "difficult one to make because it does require people to look ahead as opposed to just around them right now."
Polls indicate inflation and the economy are top issues for voters across the country with the Consumer Price Index at a 40-year-high.
But Meacham claimed that his characterization of the election wasn't "partisan," because he didn't "have a partisan brain."
"And I think that’s what President Biden, the argument he made, President Obama, this is not a partisan point, by the way, the fact that it sounds partisan is part of the trouble we’re in. And one of the fascinating things to me about this because I don’t have a partisan brain, is that I really believe that the election of 2020, the election of 2022, and the election of 2024 is going to be about more than a marginal tax rate or immigration or any of the policies that we debate when we have democracy as a mediation of differences. I just think this is more fundamental than that," he said.
Historian Jon Meacham on "Morning Joe."
Scarborough bemoaned that Biden probably wouldn't "get credit" for his leadership on the Russia-Ukraine war heading into the midterms.
Meacham agreed, before declaring his loyalties to the president.
"I think you’re right, and you know, the usual disclosure here, he’s my friend, I help him when I can. So take this for what it’s worth. But I think President Biden has done a remarkable job confronting this autocratic appetite that’s taking on a weaker country," the historian began.
In 2020, Meacham was reportedly let go from his contributor gig for the network after he failed to disclose he wrote President Biden's acceptance speech before commenting on it on-air.
Not long afterwards he was back appearing on the network without the title of "MSNBC contributor."